Celesti's POV

I woke up the next day feeling warmer than I was before. I opened my left eye and saw that I was wrapped up in Rogue's arms. My head was leaning on his shoulder and chest, and I knew that if I did not move now, then I would have hell to pay with Sting. My head felt heavy and stuffy, so I did not want to deal with Sting's teasings today.

I turned my head away from Rogue to let out a small cough. Could I be getting ill from my time spent out in the cold? Unfortunately, my cough was just loud enough to wake Rogue up, and I had no idea about this until he felt my forehead. The back of his ice cold left hand touched my forehead, and he mumbled to me, "Celesti, you're burning up."

I faced Rogue once more and smiled weakly, "I'm sorry about this. I did not know that I would catch ill from being in the cold for too long."

"Please go back to the guild or to the town's healer to get yourself treated. Don't worry about showing off your strength to the guild for the sake of your health."
I frowned a bit, "I'll try, but here's the problem: I can't Apparate back to the guild since Rufus has my wand, and I can't get to the train station in a decent amount of time. I promise to stay out of your way to avoid getting you and Sting ill."

Rogue shook his head as he lightly kissed my forehead, "It's okay. I'll get you to the station, back on the next train towards Sabertooth. You'll head home, and then use the local lacrima communication device to contact Sora, one of the guild's healers. He'll heal you in no time."

"I don't want to take any risks with this sickness in case I can spread it. Please, I'll be able to go back to the train station by myself." I tried to rise out of bed, but Rogue still had his arms around me.

I managed to see red eyes full of concern hiding behind his raven colored hair, "It's okay. I should be immune to it because I was safe yesterday, while you weren't. Let's get going before Sting gets up."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Now get ready, so then I can help you get to the station." Rogue let go of his hands and I got up, ready to head home. I ducked into the bathroom and saw that my cheeks were red from the sickness. I did not feel like putting in a lot of effort into my outfit, so I just slipped on a similar one to what I had on yesterday and got ready to go.

I stepped out of the bathroom and saw Rogue ready to go. He scooped me up by placing his right arm underneath my legs, while his left supported my head. The dark aura surrounded us, and just as he was about to fade out, Sting got up. Sting looked at Rogue and I and smirked, "Ah, is it early morning time for the two lovebirds?"

My eyes widened at that thought, and I gasped, only to earn a coughing fit. Rogue looked down at me as he transformed back to normal quickly, "No, not like that, Sting. Celesti fell ill, so I'm going to help her get back to the guild."

"That's what they all say." Sting looked at me, but I had tears streaming down my face due to the coughing fit. He frowned at me and nodded, "I kid. Feel better, Celesti. Don't let Jiemma catch you for being sick."

I smiled weakly at Sting, "Will do. Be careful on your mission too."

Sting nodded at me, then turned to Rogue, "Get going before I take her to the station, or the Master catches wind of this."

The dark aura surrounded Rogue, and without even a second glance, the two of us were racing through the shadows. I was still tearing up a bit at the coughing fit, and swore vengeance on Sting when I felt better. Turns out, I wasn't the only one thinking that. I saw Rogue shake his head and mutter to himself, "Damn you, Sting."

I started to laugh as I wiped the tears away from my face, "I agree. I'll get revenge on him soon. Where are we going?"

"Back to the guild. There's no way I'm letting you travel by yourself in a state like this."

"Please don't." I turned away from him to hide the guilt that was eating me, "I don't want you to get in trouble with Jiemma. Please, just help me get to the train station."

"Why are you not looking at me?" I turned my head and saw Rogue's red eyes looking at me, full of concern.

"Because...I...still feel like a burden. I'm doing everything I can to not be that, but I still feel that way."

"You're not a burden at all, Celesti. Please remember that." I felt the cool air hit my skin as Rogue came above ground once more. People gasped as he appeared out of nowhere, but he didn't care as he calmly walked towards the train station. He nodded at the onlookers and calmly said, "I'm just taking care of my mate."

We stopped in front of the ticket counter and he gently put me down. I saw his cheeks were tinged with red, so I lifted my hand to his forehead, "Are you catching ill too?"

"That's not why. We're caught, regardless." I looked around and saw all of these people...staring at us. Some in awe, some with jealousy.

"I'm sorry! I promise I'll hop on the next train back to the guild." I sniffled a bit as I walked up to the ticket counter, "Can I please get a ticket to where Sabertooth is?" I grabbed some jewels from my job and put them on the counter, "Do I need more?"

I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder, so I looked up and saw Rogue smiling at me, "Please add on another ticket."

"But you'll get in trouble with the Master-"

Rogue had already paid the concierge for both of our tickets, and handed me my pile of jewels. I held them in my hand as we walked over to the train. Rogue turned to me and shrugged, "Sting can handle this by himself. He wanted to go solo on this mission anyways, but he wanted to bring me along to save you."

"Maybe I shouldn't seek revenge on him for that." I looked up at Rogue and held my hand out with the jewels in it, "How much do I owe you for the ticket?"

He wrapped my fingers around the jewels and smiled slightly at me, "Nothing. You need the money more than I do."

"You sure?"

Rogue embraced me and I couldn't help but smile as he whispered, "Positive. You just focus on getting better, and that will be enough for me."

I wrapped my arms around him and sighed, feeling safe and sound, "Will do." I heard the train whistle and quickly let go of him, out of fright "We might want to get going."

I tucked the jewels in my right pocket for safekeeping, and for snacks on the train. Rogue grabbed my left hand, and smiled at me. We walked onto the train together, and for this, I was grateful for. We found a pair of seats near a window that opened, in an empty car. Rogue stepped in before me and sat nearest to the window. I sat next to him, not expecting him to say, "Sorry I took the window spot. I don't want you to see me..."

"See you what?"

He scratched his head and sighed, "Get sick. For some odd reason, Sting and I get sick on moving things. The only exception is our Exceeds."

"I wonder if I can help you overcome that." I went into my backpack to grab one of my Care of Magical Creatures textbook, but a hand stopped me from going in there.

I looked up and saw Rogue's red eyes looking into my own, "Right now, you need to focus on getting better yourself. I can handle getting sick. I just don't want to make a fool of myself in front of you. I can't afford to look weak in front of you."

I put my backpack down and smiled at Rogue, "Don't worry. I won't be mad at you, nor will I judge." I yawned a bit as I curled up into my chair and leaned my head on the headrest, "That much, I will promise."

I felt myself being picked up as the train started to move. I opened my eyes and saw Rogue holding me, my head on his left shoulder. His left arm was embracing me close to him, and I swore I saw him smile, despite him looking a little pale. He lightly kissed my forehead and whispered to me, "Get some sleep, Celesti. I'll be alright. You need the rest more than me."

"Thank you." I closed my eyes once more and dozed off, feeling at peace with myself, and hoping that Rogue wouldn't get sick and wake me from sleeping.